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9/21/2016

Demo Review: Souldrown - Evil Of War (recorded 2000 / released 2016)

Sometimes things happen that seem to have been lost in time... A demo release in the style of early Helloween and Stratovarius but evolved further to a much more complex and diverse style.

Introduction

Souldrown has its origins back in 1993.
They began as heavy-power band, mainly influenced by bands like Accept, Helloween, Stratovarius etc. As the years went on, they radically changed the style towars a darker,
more complex and progressive direction, mainly influenced by Tool, Dream
Theater etc.

Unfortunately, the band never gave themselves the chance to have an official release.

Souldrown recorded some stuff in the late 90's-early 00's, for a demo release,
from which some rough mixes have survived. This is what can be heard on the "Evil Of War" demo right here which finally sees the light of day in 2016...

The cover of Souldrown's "Evil Of War" demo, (c) by Souldrown, used with kind permission

Summary

This is a demo with two sides of the story. The first two tracks are clear in the structure, high vocals and dominant bass guitars. Tracks 3-5 are a bit different. Those are much more complex in the structure and sound and it needs some time to get to the point of them. I see some potential in this band since they have not only sticked to
the sound of their favorites but dared to evolve it further. I think
this kind of music needs some fresh kick and this band could provide
it. It would be great to know what this band has on their minds after
all these years.

This goes especially for the vocals. The vocalist keep them in a high region but also makes sure to keep them a bit more in the middle peak which makes them enjoyable and keeps the voice authentic. This prevents the tracks from being destroyed by a too loud noise that would make the melodies not identifiable anymore.

In detail Evil of War is clear and round for me. A grooving rhythm pushes throughout the full track duration and makes it a lot of fun to listen to it. The vocals are high and the refrain comes with various layers something not many bands work with. The bass guitar sets apart in the sound straight from the start. Last Hours is my favorite on the tape. A double bass cracker with fine keyboard parts packed in a roundly sounded package. It's typical melodic power metal. It feels more as a story than a song but it's something I like.

Track 3 Talk Hard offers more variations in the rhythm section while the overall speed is set to midtempo. Melody is set on top again but it comes around differently when you look at the style of it. More keyboards to be found in this one. The fastest track on the digital tape is called Dragons Lair. It's the hardest to get by anyway. A complex song structure makes it hard to get a grip on the sound. The vocals form a guiding light through the whole song.

See The Signs closes the release. This one is more complex than the previous track and comes with a high-tempo format. We hear the typical high notes in the vocals that seem to be a trademark of Souldrown. Some vocal effects can be heard, too. Those give the vocal performance some more variation and will hark back. They sound unusual so you'll want to re-listen after a first round.

Player / Purchase Link

The whole tape can be streamed for free here in the player. You can download a digital copy for only one euro on Bandcamp so please give the artist a sign that they should continue.

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I am a big heavy metal fan, 35 years old and listening to this music since 20 years now and I wanna help bring up some of the younger bands. They need our support, the older bands mostly do have their fans but the younger not. So that's what should be changed. So let's start with this blog...